Chapter 5: Fatal Strike
Without eyelids to close, Lu Yan could only watch as the magic apprentice dashed back and forth around him. If he had a heart, it would likely be racing with anxiety. Every living person around him, reeking of foul odors, had the capability to kill him. However, everyone believed he had fallen to his death, and even if he were still alive, he was thought to be on the brink of death, so no one paid him any attention
The enchanting wind, the fierce fire, the solid earth, the gentle water, please awaken...
A strange sound immediately echoed in the magic circle, resembling flames burning, a hurricane roaring, and even more like waves about to crash over.
The skeletons erupted with a strange howl, charging towards the stone wall
With a swift motion, Lü Yan raised his right hand, and a bloody bone needle suddenly shot out from his palm. The peasant woman let out a terrified scream, dropped her hoe, and retreated repeatedly, ultimately falling to the ground.
Retreat into the village and set up the defensive magic array! The black-robed sorcerer calmly led the apprentices back from the stone wall, while simultaneously using spells to eliminate the skeletons that had climbed over the wall.
Lü Yan paid no attention to the surrounding changes; he had only one chance. Since he had already made his move, he could not afford the slightest hesitation. With a soft "sizzle," the bone needle in Lü Yan's right hand suddenly shot out, piercing through the precious black silk robe of the black-robed sorcerer. However, the bone needle did not penetrate the sorcerer's body, as a soft object blocked its path.
The black-robed sorcerer retreated until he stopped beside Alec's corpse, while the apprentices quickly took out a golden powder from their bags and swiftly drew strange lines on the ground around them
Alright, using magic in this elemental defense formation requires very little magical power. You should challenge the Bone Killers as much as possible. If one person cannot handle it, then several of you should work together to attack their cervical bones, as that is always the vital point for skeletons. After the black-robed mage finished speaking, he sat down and took out medicine from a pocket hidden in his magical robe to treat the wound on his shoulder
On the gradually quieting battlefield, a dozen remaining skeletal warriors gathered around the massive stone pressing down on the black-robed sorcerer, their intelligence not being low, as they understood that the black-robed sorcerer was the greatest enemy
Without the command of the strong bones, the assault of the skeletons in the valley became chaotic. Dozens of battle bones acted independently, almost instinctively directing their subordinates to launch repeated bloody charges against the riverside village.
After eliminating the strong bone, Aisi and the other two quietly left the battlefield. The rumor they spread, "There is a black crystal in He Gu Village," was very successful, successfully attracting two strong bone skeletons. However, they unexpectedly encountered an apprentice mage of the Empire hidden in the village. For these three small mercenaries or bone hunters, attracting the attention of an Empire mage—even if only at the apprentice level—was not a good thing. Therefore, after obtaining two bone souls, they quickly left the valley
After staring for a moment and confirming that Lu Yan had not moved from his position, the black-robed sorcerer redirected his attention back to the battlefield
Lü Yan was astonished to discover that the green mist in the air seemed to come alive, swiftly burrowing into the golden powder on the ground. The golden powder then penetrated deeper into the earth, transforming into shimmering lines, illuminating the entire magic circle, with a hazy beam of light shooting up into the dark starry sky
A flash of red shadow appeared, and Lü Yan suddenly sprang up from the ground. The power emanating from his leg bones surprised even him; it was completely different from the stiffness and weakness he had felt during the gray bone stage. Now, his leg bones and joints were filled with explosive strength. Lü Yan could even hear the howling of the fierce wind rushing through the cavities of his skull. With a loud crash, he collided with the black-robed sorcerer and held him tightly.
The light column of the magic circle began to disperse, with fragments of stone, flames, water bullets, and wind blades scattering in all directions
The glass bottle shattered on the ground with a crisp and piercing sound, and Lu Yan finally made up his mind, going all in
Losing means death
Do not be nervous, and do not misplace the patterns of the elemental defense array! The black-robed sorcerer instructed the apprentices to complete the magic circle while casting fireballs.
The elements are out of control! The black-robed sorcerer is filled with deep regret, wondering why he did not cast a fireball on the red skeleton lying on the ground. But who would have thought that even a red skeleton knows how to play dead and can interrupt the incantation?
Lü Yan saw a large number of skeletons surging outside the magic circle. The villagers of He Valley had long been torn to pieces by the enraged skeletons. Now, the only living beings in He Valley were an apprentice mage within the magic circle and more than twenty apprentices.
Can I survive? Lv Yan looked at the calm expression of the black-robed sorcerer and felt that the situation was not optimistic
The apprentices quickly joined forces to complete a complex magic circle, and at that moment, the black-robed sorcerer finally regained his ability to chant. He took out a delicate green glass bottle and smashed it on the ground, causing the liquid inside to instantly transform into a swirl of green mist. The black-robed sorcerer took a deep breath and then swiftly began to chant: "Gentle wind, fierce fire, heavy earth, tender water, please awaken..."
"Hmm... dead." Confirming that the black-robed sorcerer was indeed dead, the skeletal warriors murmured and began to disperse. However, the lizard-shaped skeleton did not leave; he noticed that Lü Yan's head moved slightly.
"I can't believe I'm still alive." Lü Yan slowly got up from the ground, hesitatingly glanced at the tall figure of Kairen Val, and gradually followed behind.
The magic apprentices utilized the elemental defense magic circle for the first time in actual combat, and the power of the magic circle caused their already fatigued spirits to suddenly surge. Various fireballs and ice arrows were unleashed in a systematic manner, and several of the frontline skeletal warriors were immediately eliminated.
The vast majority of skeletons do not know fear; their anger and innate hatred for humans compel them to charge once more. This time, the earth element of the magic circle is activated, and suddenly, numerous massive stones fall from the air around the magic circle, crushing the nearest skeletons and then rolling into the crowd of skeletons with a thunderous roar, unstoppable by any bones
With a loud crash, a massive boulder over three meters high suddenly appeared behind Lv Yan. It struck with tremendous force against Lv Yan's back, nearly shattering his entire spine. At the same time, it forcefully drove Lv Yan's right hand bone needle deep into the abdomen of the black-robed sorcerer
If there were sweat glands, Lü Yan would already be drenched in cold sweat. If all the skeletons were to die, his fate could be easily imagined. He hoped that the magic circle would fail, but such a situation had never occurred. The black-robed sorcerer smashed a glass bottle filled with green liquid approximately every three minutes, followed by a chant. After that, the brilliance of the magic circle would shine so intensely that it made Lü Yan's heart race. He knew that if this continued, he would surely meet his end. The black-robed sorcerer smashed a glass bottle filled with green liquid approximately every three minutes, followed by a chant. After that, the brilliance of the magic circle would shine so intensely that it made Lü Yan's heart race. He knew that if this continued, he would surely meet his end
Lü Yan looked perplexedly at the distant old man with a white beard, whose blood was growing cold. He sensed that the "power" emanating from the old man was dozens of times more vigorous than that of Yalike and those militia members. He could only absorb a small portion of it, while a significant amount of "power" dissipated wastefully into the air. Why would an elderly human possess such abundant "power"?
The surrounding skeletons gradually became sparse. Just how many skeletons had been killed by the magic apprentices? One hundred thousand, or two hundred thousand? Lü Yan could not calculate, but the number was certainly not small. Judging by the gradually relaxed expression on the face of the black-robed sorcerer and the weary smiles of the magic apprentices, it was clear that the skeletons were losing.
Indeed, the power of the elemental defense magic circle quickly plunged Lu Yan into despair. When the first skeleton approached the magic circle at about ten meters, a massive fireball appeared out of thin air. It circled around the perimeter of the magic circle like a ghost, then charged into the group of skeletons, creating a passage several dozen meters deep before vanishing. This fireball incinerated at least hundreds of skeletons, and one of the battle bones was struck directly by the flames, inevitably reduced to ashes. It circled around the perimeter of the magic circle like a ghost, then charged into the group of skeletons, creating a passage several dozen meters deep before vanishing. This fireball incinerated at least hundreds of skeletons, and one of the battle bones was struck directly by the flames, inevitably reduced to ashes.
Lü Yan let out a quiet sigh of relief; he dared not move or harm anyone, for he knew that as soon as he took action, the fireballs of the dark-robed sorcerer would come flying towards him. He would be utterly defenseless against those fireballs. All he could do now was wait
The boulder pinned both Lü Yan and the black-robed sorcerer to the ground
Ah... the expression on the black-robed sorcerer's face changed dramatically; he was not afraid of Lu Yan, but rather that his incantation had been interrupted
A skeletal army consisting of a dozen bone warriors, over 200 red bones, and fewer than 10,000 gray bones departed from He Gu Village, heading towards the camp in the west. Unbeknownst to them, an incredibly arduous journey of desperation was just beginning
The prince is already dead; if the mission item is further damaged, there will be no way out. The astonishment on the dark-robed sorcerer's face quickly transformed into a frenzied grimace as he pressed his hand against Lu Yan's forehead, a fireball rapidly taking shape in his palm, almost pressing against Lu Yan's eye socket.
Lü Yan turned over, withdrawing his shattered right hand bone from the bloodied abdomen of the sorcerer. Attached to the bone was an ancient leather pouch, which had already been pierced through by his own bone needle. The pouch was empty, containing nothing at all. After glancing at it briefly, Lü Yan discarded the pouch to the side
The dark-robed sorcerer took a deep breath, unaware that beneath the green smoke, Alec's corpse had been turned over, and the wretched red bone was quietly moving.
The black-robed sorcerer, unable to chant, resorted to casting instant fireballs. His fireballs were both far-reaching and precise. Under the combined pressure of him and the rock salamander, the skeletons' offensive was momentarily thwarted. However, the summoning time for magical creatures is limited, and the rock salamander on the battlefield soon solidified into a massive clump of mud, collapsing with a thunderous sound
Lü Yan does not want to die; he does not understand why he seems particularly afraid of death. There is a voice deep within him that keeps calling out, "Do not die! Do not die! You must survive!"
The black-robed sorcerer took out another glass bottle filled with green liquid from hetushu.com. Lü Yan was uncertain whether the skeleton brothers outside the magic circle could hold on until the next time the black-robed sorcerer used the glass bottle
The black-robed sorcerer had no choice but to use the second scroll of the rock salamander, yet even so, it was still difficult for him to withstand the suicidal attacks of the skeletons. What was even more terrifying was that he felt a tingling sensation from the wound on his shoulder; the horn shot by the strong-boned skeleton was poisoned
The elemental defense magic array finally collapsed completely, and the swarm of skeletons tore apart more than twenty magic apprentices alive. Under the nourishment of fresh blood, some new red bones and battle bones were born
A foul stench approaching pulled Lu Yan out of his thoughts. He turned his head and saw a plump peasant woman charging at him with a hoe. Tears streaked down her fat, rough face, likely because one of her sons had recently died at the hands of the Red Bones. However, Lu Yan would not allow sympathy to let this peasant woman's hoe land on his head, for as long as one of them succeeded, all the villagers would swarm around.
Lü Yan quickly put away the bone needle. The black-robed sorcerer on the stone wall heard the villagers' screams and, when he turned to look, he could no longer see Lü Yan's movements.
However, the black-robed sorcerer was still unable to kill Lü Yan; this time, it was the chaotic elements within the magic circle that caused the disruption
The triangular head of the lizard-shaped battle skeleton lowered, and a cloud of black mist spewed from its mouth, gently sweeping over Lu Yan's body, causing the shattered bones on Lu Yan to rapidly heal.
"My name is Karenvar, and congratulations on becoming my subordinate," said the lizard-like war bone coldly before turning away, a small piece of tattered red cloth flapping wildly in the wind on his back
A three-meter tall lizard-like war skeleton lifted the boulder, revealing the severely injured Lu Yan and the black-robed mage.
The black-robed sorcerer was drenched in cold sweat, but the anticipated excruciating pain did not come. After a brief moment of distraction, his expression changed drastically once again, as he realized what had blocked the bone needle: the secret item entrusted to him by the Mage Association for transport.